Blues legend Jason Dozzell has opened up on the frustration he felt for his son Andre during former manager Paul Hurst’s time in charge at Town but says the 19-year-old is much happier since Paul Lambert took over as boss.
Having missed all but the first 45 minutes of last season after tearing a cruciate knee ligament, Andre looked set for a return to the first team at the start of this campaign having got back to fitness and been involved throughout pre-season.
However, the England U20 international was surprisingly omitted from the senior side and sent to train and play with the U23s with Hurst insisting that he still wasn’t fit, while a loan move was also mooted at one stage.
Speaking on today's Life’s a Pitch on BBC Radio Suffolk (1hr 13mins 13secs), Jason said his son’s situation has improved greatly since the change of manager a month ago.
"It’s chalk and cheese from the old regime,” said Jason, these days a coach with the Town academy. "They wanted to send all the young players out on loan and bring all his boys in, which for me from the start was the wrong thing to do.
"Everybody likes to see the homegrown players, the young players coming through and you get away with it more with a manager if you do that.
"It’s invigorating to hear Paul Lambert talk about the young lads. He’s spoken to Andre, he’s not starting at the moment but Andre’s in a really good place, he started for England the other night and he’s told him his time will come: ‘We’re in a real battle at the moment, the Championship is brutal, you’re just going to have to wait your time until it starts opening up a little bit’.
"He speaks to him. The old regime, it felt like punishment, whatever they would do with Andre it felt like punishment. Certain things, I can’t go into it, but certain things felt like punishment, especially after the year he’d had as well. It was really, really, really bad, for me, [and] as a family and watching him go through this.”
Jason was pleased to see Andre start and win his second cap for the England U20s at Colchester on Monday as they beat Germany 2-0.
"That was great,” he added. "Andre was fit at the beginning of the season but because of his situation they didn’t pick him. So all these things add on and he’s had to watch Flynn Downes and Trevoh Chalobah go away.
"Now it’s got a little bit better, he’s playing a few minutes, he’s got back in and started, and that’s a big thing. He’s not really started for Ipswich but he’s started for England so he must have trained really well while he was away.
"They did say they were going to pick the team on whoever trains really well, so he’s gone away for the last week.
"Titus [Bramble, Town’s U16s coach] went to coach as well so he was keeping me up to date how it was going. He said, ‘Jay, he’s trained so good and it looks like he’s going to start’.
"And Flynn, who has been brilliant under Paul Lambert, came on as a sub and Trevoh captained, so that’s three Ipswich players out there, which is great.”
Although Andre is widely tipped for a Premier League future - something which looks a long way off for the Blues given their current predicament - Jason says his son is happy at Portman Road and he hopes he can make a significant contribution for Town prior to any eventual move.
"We’re not looking at that,” he said. "I want him to do something at Ipswich Town. He’s 19 now and it hasn’t got going yet, with the injury and whatever else and Paul and the old regime, it hasn’t got going.
"Whatever happens, happens, but now he’s happy with the new regime, they’re speaking to him, he’s understanding what position they’re in, so he might have to bide his time a little bit longer and take it from there. But, as I say, he’s really happy at the moment, so that’s all I can ask for.”
The Ipswich-born 50-year-old, a Town fan just as much as a former player, is hopeful the Blues can climb away from the relegation zone under Lambert.
"I think we’re five points adrift in January I’ll be delighted with that,” Dozzell reflected. "The owner’s promised him some money and I think we will get out of it, I really do.
"What he’s done so far, I’m really positive about it at the moment, I can see us getting out of it.”
In addition to his Life’s a Pitch interview, in which among other things he also reminisces about following the Blues as a supporter during the glory, glory days under Sir Bobby Robson, Dozzell was on the This Championship Life slot on BBC Five Live’s Chiles on Friday this week (from 1hr 47mins 19secs) to talk about his debut goal aged 16 and 57 days back in 1984.
Still the youngest scorer in the top flight, Dozzell was joined by his skipper that day, Life’s a Pitch regular Terry Butcher.